


On the Rise

by chamaenerion



Series: SPN Writing Challenges [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 00:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15522417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chamaenerion/pseuds/chamaenerion
Summary: On a cold and stormy night, a wolf stumbles into Dean’s diner.





	On the Rise

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the DeanCas Writing Challenge Round 5
> 
> Prompt: Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival
> 
> my brain wanted to take this in too many directions, so i fear it didn't really go in any direction at all... maybe i can fix that with a part two sometime
> 
> [[tumblr](http://pluckydean.tumblr.com/)]
> 
> [round 3: [bodyswap/wingfic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14424144/)]

It was a slow night at the diner. Storms tended to keep away the customers and there was a real howler tearing up the town tonight.

Dean had already sent most of the staff home, though Benny had stuck around into the evening.

“We’ll close up an hour early tonight,” Dean said to him, and Charlie gave him a thumbs up from the counter. “No one’s going out in this weather, and you should get home before the streets start to flood.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice. See you tomorrow, brother.” He waved a hand over his shoulder as he headed out the door and turned up his collar against the rain.

Dean started stacking the chairs on the tables as Charlie closed out the register.

“Game of Thrones tonight?” he asked.

“I was thinking I’d rather kick your ass at Fortnite again.”

He looked up at her with a smirk. “We’ll see about that.”

Then Charlie looked past him to the door and he heard the bell jingle. Expecting to see Benny had returned, Dean looked over his shoulder.

“Forget your keys?”

But it definitely wasn’t Benny.

A completely drenched man came through the door and battled the wind and the rain to close it behind him. His dark hair was plastered against his forehead, and he was dripping all over the place.

“Excuse me,” he said with a voice like gravel, “Could I trouble you… I’m looking for De-.”

There was a blinding flash of lightning that made the guy jump and then suddenly he fell to the ground and began to spasm.

“The hell?” Dean ran toward him and was shocked to see furred limbs bursting through a tattered trench coat.

“Don’t call 911,” he yelled to Charlie, “He’s a wolf.”

“Oh crap, anyone we know?”

Dean took a step back and considered the black fur and bright blue eyes as the wolf thrashed out of the tattered remains of his clothes. He shook his head.

“Hey, buddy,” he said in what he hoped was a calming voice. “Relax. You’re safe here.”

Charlie reached his side just as the wolf finished his transition and crouched defensively where he had backed up against the door.

“I’ve never seen him before,” she said. “You don’t think he’s newly turned, do you?”

Dean leaned forward and pulled at the rain soaked coat, checking the pockets. “I hope not.”

He finally found a wallet with no ID, but a credit card that said ‘Castiel Novak’.

“Castiel?”

The wolf bared his teeth.

He felt Charlie shift next to him, likely fighting the urge to turn.

“Why don’t you go call Sam,” he said, but didn’t take his eyes off Castiel.

“I don’t think I should leave-”

“I’ll be fine, he just seems a little freaked. Sam will want to know.” 

Sam would need to know. As their pack leader it was going to be Sam’s problem if one of theirs accidentally turned a human… or if another pack was moving into their territory. And Sam’s problems were Dean’s problems.

“Okay,” Dean said, pulling a chair off one of the tables to have a seat. “I don’t know if you came here on purpose or by accident, but we’re all the same here.”

Slowly, Castiel dropped his defensive position and looked at Dean with his head cocked to one side.

“Why don’t you just concentrate on calming down and changing back so we can talk. You hungry?”

He nodded, even though Dean thought he seemed pretty skeptical.

“Great, I’ll grab some food. And don’t let the raw meat fool you, I actually make the best burgers in the state of Kansas.”

Castiel ate like he hadn’t seen food in weeks, and then his head dropped closer and closer to the floor as he struggled to stay awake.

Dean considered his options. “You’re welcome to stay the night, but we’ve got a spare room upstairs that’s probably a lot warmer.”

A loud clap of thunder shook the building just in time to emphasize his point.

Charlie came back down the stairs and said, “Sam says Eileen won’t let him drive out in this weather because it can wait till morning.”

Dean snorted. “He’s probably just using Eileen as an excuse, the wuss. It’s not even that bad-”

The simultaneous thunder and lightning made them both jump.

“Wow,” Charlie said. But she didn’t mean the storm.

The wolf was sound asleep.

-

There was no doubt that Dean was going to have to endure some teasing from Charlie for spending the night downstairs in the diner, but he couldn’t help but be worried. It wasn’t very often that they ran across unknown wolves. His pack was familiar with every other pack in the Midwest, a combination of friendship and necessity, and newly turned wolves were rare enough that Dean would have remembered hearing about one.

And there was something about Castiel that made him reluctant to leave.

The morning dawned hazy and damp after the long storm, and Dean was pulled from his light doze by a rustling sound.

“Man, you couldn’t have waited to turn back at a more decent hour?” he grumbled and cracked one eye open to see him pulling a hoodie over the other clothes Dean had set on one of the tables last night.

The man paused and tilted his head in a way very similar to how he had done so in his wolf form. “I’m… sorry?”

“S'okay, I gotta open soon anyway.” He got up and stretched and instantly regretted spending the night in a chair. “You want breakfast? I’m making omelettes.”

Castiel followed him to the counter and Dean gestured for him to grab a stool and have a seat. And then he started an extra strong pot of coffee.

“I’m Dean, by the way.” He held out his hand.

“Castiel.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Dean said as they shook. He pointed towards the stairs. “I laid your coat out to dry, but the rest of your clothes were kind of a lost cause.” He pulled the mostly empty wallet out of his pocket and handed it over.

Besides the credit card, there wasn’t anything inside other than some lint and a worn picture of a man that looked very much like Castiel who was holding a small blonde child.

“Thank you for the clothes,” Castiel said after a few minutes of awkward silence.

Dean shrugged and poured him some coffee. “So, Cas, mind filling me in on why you ended up wolfed out in my diner?”

“I left my pack,” he said, “just yesterday.” His hands were wrapped tight around the coffee mug.

Dean waited for more, but Cas avoided his eyes and didn’t continue.

“It’s not a coincidence that you stumbled into a werewolf’s diner, is it?” Dean asked when he set their finished omelettes on the counter.

“The Winchesters have a habit of taking in strays,” Castiel said like he was quoting something. “Human and wolf alike.”

Well, he’s not wrong, Dean thought.

“My pack was not so… lenient. And yesterday I found myself in need of a new arrangement.” He pulled the photo from his wallet. “My cousin, Jimmy, died.”

“Oh, man, I’m sorry.”

Cas nodded. “I am her guardian now.” He tapped the photo. “And she doesn’t know anything about me.”

Crap, it was no wonder the storm had set him off last night.

“Was Jimmy…?”

“No.” Cas sighed. “And he didn’t approve- we had not spoken in years.”

Then Cas took a bite of his omelette, and his eyes widened.

“This is delicious.”

Dean grinned. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” He came around the counter to grab a stool. “Will you be staying in the area with your little cousin?”

“I hope so.”

“You’ll want to stick around this morning and meet Sam. He’s-”

“Pack leader, I know.”

“You seem to know a lot about us.” Dean smirked. Avert one little apocalyspe, and people will gossip about it forever.

“Every werewolf knows about Sam and Dean Winchester. And,” Castiel continued gravely, “I hear you serve the best burgers in the Midwest.”

Dean laughed and replied, “Wait till you try the pie.”

“I look forward to it,” Cas said, and he smiled.


End file.
